Despite a successful recording and acting career in Latin America, Chayanne was virtually unknown to the rest of the world when he was selected to star opposite Vanessa L Williams in the film "Dance With Me" (1998). The tall, boyishly handsome singer-actor hoped to follow artists like Ruben Blades and Antonio Banderas who crossed-over into mainstream success. Although his parents had lived in NYC, Chayanne was born and raised in Puerto Rico. At age five, he was singing in the church choir and acting in school plays. By age 10, he was a professional singer with Los Chicos, a popular group fashioned after Menudo. With Los Chicos, Chayanne recorded five albums and made his film debut in the Spanish-language feature "Los Chicos en Conexion Caribe." When the group disbanded in 1983, the teenager found roles on telenovelas and eventually found success as a solo performing artist. His first album "Es Mi Nombre" was recorded when he was 17. Settling in Mexico City, Chayanne acted in several of the popular TV serials, including "Tormento" and "Volver A Empezar." With sold-out concerts, numerous gold and platinum recordings and a successful concert career, Chayanne made the move to feature films in a...

Despite a successful recording and acting career in Latin America, Chayanne was virtually unknown to the rest of the world when he was selected to star opposite Vanessa L Williams in the film "Dance With Me" (1998). The tall, boyishly handsome singer-actor hoped to follow artists like Ruben Blades and Antonio Banderas who crossed-over into mainstream success.

Although his parents had lived in NYC, Chayanne was born and raised in Puerto Rico. At age five, he was singing in the church choir and acting in school plays. By age 10, he was a professional singer with Los Chicos, a popular group fashioned after Menudo. With Los Chicos, Chayanne recorded five albums and made his film debut in the Spanish-language feature "Los Chicos en Conexion Caribe." When the group disbanded in 1983, the teenager found roles on telenovelas and eventually found success as a solo performing artist. His first album "Es Mi Nombre" was recorded when he was 17. Settling in Mexico City, Chayanne acted in several of the popular TV serials, including "Tormento" and "Volver A Empezar."

With sold-out concerts, numerous gold and platinum recordings and a successful concert career, Chayanne made the move to feature films in a supporting role in Jacobo Morales' "Linda Sara" (1994). Although he reportedly auditioned for the role of Che in the film version of "Evita" (1996) and was under consideration for the title role in "The Mask of Zorro" (1998), he lost both roles to Banderas. When he came under consideration for the role in "Dance With Me," he had already filled such venues as Radio City Music Hall and the Universal Ampitheatre, but the casting personnel and producers were not familiar with him. Director Randa Haines, however, has stated that as soon as Chayanne came in for the reading, it was clear he was the one. Once he proved he could dance and following a screen test with Williams, he was given the role of a Cuban emigre who partners with a formerly successful dancer in a ballroom competition. Displaying a sensuous charisma, he acquitted himself well in his English-language debut.

Notes

He reported got his nickname because his mother was a fan of the TV Western "Cheyenne"

His albums have sold over 4 million copies and he has had more than a dozen Top Ten Spanish-language hits.

"If you have the combination of talent and sex appeal, that's great. Everything, these days, is too fast. If you can sing, if you can act, if you have personality, everything helps. In my case, I studied singing, acting dance, and here I am. But a lot of it is image. You're going to find that all over the world, though, people who put more enthusiasm into the image, while otehrs are going to be more interested in the singing or the acting. It just depends on what the person wants. What I want is as much as I can have, ans as good as I can perform in each one." --Chayanne quoted in The Boston Globe, August 16, 1998.

"I remember our screen test. The studio needed to be sold on this guy. So we did a couple of scenes and then we did a little freestyle dancing. The chemistry was immediate. How could you not have chemistry with someone who is so open and charming and confident? He also has a naive quality, which is great." --co-star Vanessa L Williams quoted in the Chicago Sun-Times, August 16, 1998.

"It's in his eyes, in his spirit. He can be goofy, he can be commanding. He's gorgeous without being cocky. He's extraordinarily accessible. He's going to be hot. He speaks English beautifully, he's charming, and I've not found anyone who's not fallen in love with him. The males are not threatened by him, and the women melt with him." --"dance With Me" producer Lauren C Weissman quoted in The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 16, 1998.

"As a singer, Chayanne is limited; his voice is sweet but shallow, and he shows no inclination to improvise. But his job is to put a pleasing face on a slick pop package ... the shrieks that greet every twitch of Chayanne's hips attested to ho well he was doing it." --From "Amor (Those Hips!) Pasion (Those Lips!)" by Jon Pareles in The New York Times, May 31, 1999.